The new Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatch series is a top contender for the mid-premium wearable market. The display does not look cheap, the features aren’t lacking, the battery can definitely keep up with multi-day usage, and its aesthetics can compete as well.
With all its bells and whistles, the Fitbit Versa 3 suffers the same limiting factor as its predecessors, and that is it’s not a simple pick-up and go device. The smartwatch is heavily reliant on its official app, the pairing speed leaves more to be desired, and it’s practically a cheap fitness tracker without a Fitbit Premium subscription.
Features and Functions
The Versa 3 is housed in a square aluminum and stainless-steel chassis with an Amoled display that has an Always-On feature. The bands are interchangeable and cross-compatible with Pendleton and Victor Glemaud band collections.
The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection which provides a decent toughness against scratches; however, Fitbit did not add an additional screen protector for this device. It is NFC-enabled for payments through Fitbit Pay, and uses the same magnetic charger as the Fitbit Sense.
The Versa 3 can power through six days of usage and can charge a day’s worth of power in 12 minutes. During charging, the temperature of the device can be a little elevated, but not too high that it causes any concern.
The smartwatch is supported on both Android and iOS platforms, but only supports text message notifications on Android. Its on-board music players include Deezer and Pandora, and offers playback control for Spotify. Unfortunately, it does not have access to Spotify used offline.
Since it has a built-in speaker and microphone, the Versa 3 lets users enable the voice-assistant function for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Voice recognition is fairly excellent provided that users speak closer to the device, while phone calls and voice mail sending can be a little tricky with more room for error.
Versa 2 and Versa 3 – What’s the difference?
Despite it being the more current option, the Versa 3 seriously lacks any variety in colors when compared to its predecessor. The Versa 2 smartwatch comes in eight different paint jobs, while the Versa 3 is down to three color variants — black/black aluminum, pink clay/soft gold aluminum, and midnight/soft gold aluminum.
Still, the Versa 3 is a better pick for a premium smartwatch. It comes with voice assistants, microphone and speaker, onboard GPS, PurePulse 2.0, and Active Zone Minutes. The newer quick release function called ‘infinity band system’ on the Versa 3, however, means that older Fitbit Versa bands are now incompatible with it.
Essentially, the PurePulse 2.0 technology gives the Versa 3 a boost in its readings, making use of a multi-path heart rate sensor that the brand dubs as its ‘most advanced heart rate technology yet’. Through six light transmitters and receivers paired with an improved algorithm, the Versa 3 produces a more comprehensive and reliable result 24/7.
The other advantage of the newer Versa 3 is the Active Zone Minutes feature, a personalized system that uses PurePulse heart tracking that tells users the optimal heart rate during exercise and if they’ve already reached the needed effort to reach their activity guidelines.
This feature removes the guesswork on what kind of activities are suitable for each individual Versa 3 wearer, whether it is yoga or high-intensity interval training. The personal heart rate zones are determined through unique user beats-per-minute (bpm) that also reveals progress on fat burn, cardio, and peak heart rate.
Conclusion
The Versa 3 is definitely a step-up from its predecessor. The new features bring a more customized fitness and well-being mindfulness to users, given that there is a Fitbit Premium subscription. Although it offers a more comprehensive set of health metrics, these are rendered useless without the app, making it heavily reliant on a smartphone. That said, it is capable of competing with flagship smartwatches in the market at a much lower price point. Do note that the device shines better when used with an Android, while iPhone users might need to look somewhere else since some features are not fully compatible with iOS.
